Craving The Wrong Brother (Sloane and Knox) novel Chapter 132

***

~~HUNTER~~

***

I had expected Mateo to retaliate after I turned down his request to turn against Knox—but not this quickly, and definitely not with a swarm of armed men breaking into my house at night.

How they managed to get past the two security guards Knox hired for me is still a mystery. No struggle I could hear. When they dragged me out, I caught a glimpse of the guards—slumped in the hallway. No blood on the floor. No holes in their clothes. Just stillness. I hope they were just asleep.

Now, I’m tied to a chair in my damn pajamas. My ankles are bound to the chair legs, wrists tight behind me, the rope biting through my skin each time I move.

And I’m not the only one dressed for comfort.

Soraya’s beside me in a silk robe. Serena’s at the other end of our semicircle with the hem of her top riding up her thighs. Finn sits just before Serena, the only one in an actual outfit. Jeans and a T-shirt. Only one of his arms is tied. His broken one is left untouched, mercifully.

What I can’t wrap my head around is the random-ass group of people Mateo dragged into this basement—and that comment he made about us leaving in body bags.

“You mean you’re going to kill us?” I ask, keeping my voice steady.

Mateo turns his head slightly. “That’s one way to put it.”

“It’s a yes or no question.”

“I don’t have a straightforward answer for you, Hunter.”

“If this is about Knox,” I say, “why isn’t he here?”

“Because I don’t want him here.”

“Oh, so you take everyone else but the one person you actually have a problem with? That’s logical. Some of us have actual lives. Things to do. We don’t have time for your little revenge soap opera.”

Mateo doesn’t respond. His eye, hidden behind those glasses, seems to scan deeper than just the surface. He takes his time, moving from one person to the next like he’s reading a damn menu. Soraya looks pissed. Serena, weirdly enough, looks calm. Too calm. And Finn… Finn looks like he still hasn’t caught up to the fact that we’ve been kidnapped. If Mateo’s plan really hinges on using us as leverage to get to Knox, then bringing Finn was a dumb move. Guy’ll be the first to die if Knox has to choose who to save.

“Why didn’t you just take Hunter and me hostage at your house if this was your plan all along?” Soraya says. “Why lie about helping me get my kid back? Why deceive Hunter with a job? Why go through all the theatrics when you could’ve just kidnapped us from the start?”

“The time wasn’t right,” Mateo says. And then he snaps his fingers once.

One of the masked men nods and heads up the basement stairs.

“And now it is?” I ask.

Mateo sighs, fingers drumming lightly on his cane. “You all and your questions. I came to this city with only one thing on my mind—revenge on Knox. That was it. I did my research. Dug deep.”

He shifts in his chair, then nods toward Finn.

“That man with the broken arm? That’s his brother. They have the worst relationship, of course. Practically strangers. But somehow, he winds up in Serena’s apartment on the exact night she gets taken. If that’s not fate, I don’t know what to call it.”

His eyes turn to me next.

“You’re his closest friend. Weird dynamic, if you ask me, but that’s your business. That’s why you’re here.”

Then he points at Soraya.

“You. You’re the woman he married. The one he kept safe for years. Finding out about you wasn’t easy, by the way. But I did. I know who you are. I wasn’t lying when I said I had information about your family. Your father’s dead. Your child’s safe. And you better relish that news, because chances are you won’t see that child again.”

His gaze finally settles on Serena.

“And you… you might be the most important part of all this. You’re Knox’s girlfriend’s sister. He might be able to stand by and watch everyone else burn, but Sloane? She won’t let anything happen to you. If I have her attention, then I have his.”

Finn breaks in. “Back up a little bit. First of all, who the hell are you?”